Max McLean’s ‘Fireside Fellowship Theatrical Christmas Celebration’ Available Free Online

Registration is now open for Fellowship for Performing Arts’ Fireside Fellowship Theatrical Christmas Celebration, a virtual Christmas event in theatre and song available free online through Jan. 2. 

Fireside Fellowship features four, new short plays inspired by scriptures about the Christmas story plus classic and contemporary songs of the season performed by stars of Broadway and opera and a 12-member choir.

Register at FPATheatre.com/Christmas. 

“Stories and songs can bring the meaning of Christmas to life in new and engaging ways,” said FPA Founder and Artistic Director Max McLean. “Our third Christmas Celebration is a gift from FPA to everyone who wants to join us virtually and celebrate the Incarnation of Christ.” 

The presentation includes new works FPA commissioned from four exceptional playwrights, each a six to nine-minute play inspired by Christmas scripture. The stories range from a hilarious take on the census worker who encounters Joseph and a very pregnant Mary, to a skeptical professor who learns that miracles can come in small packages, to an extraordinary girl who uses the internet to express her joy and wonder, to a moving portrait of a grieving Mary visited by the same messenger who came to her over 30 years before. They are performed by New York-based actors with a broad array of Broadway, Off-Broadway, TV and film credits.

Fireside Fellowship also features new arrangements of classic Christmas carols such as Angels from the Realms of Glory and O Come, O Come Emmanuel, emerging classics like Mary Did You Know and culminating in choral music from Handel’s Messiah.

THE PLAYS
The Census Taker by Lori Fischer – “in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus…” Even when you are pregnant with the Messiah, you still have to fill out the paperwork. Starring Layla Khoshnoudi, Robin Abramson, Tianna Reaves and Chris Erdman.

The Flock at Night by Jeff Talbott – On a cold December evening, a skeptical college professor learns that actual miracles can come in the smallest packages. Starring Henny Russell, Lynnette R. Freeman and Emma Maggi-Byers.

Mary’s Dance by Heidi Armbruster – A very ordinary teenage girl dances her way to something extraordinary. Starring Charlotte Booker and Adaline Gomez.

Song of Mary by James Yaegashi – Fear, suspicion and kindness swirl about in a forgotten place when an unexpected man visits a mother in grief. Starring Kim Yancey-Moore, Angel Desai, Mira Bahgat and David Shih.

THE SONGS:
O Come, O Come Emmanuel/Come Thou Long Expected Jesus – Sung by Javier Ignacio (Company and Side Show on Broadway) and Zachary James (Grammy Award-winning star of opera and Broadway).

Angels From the Realms of Glory – Sung by Emily Drennan (featured soloist at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center).

Mary, Did You Know – Sung by Alan H. Green (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and School of Rock on Broadway).

And the Glory of the Lord (from Handel’s Messiah) – Performed by a 12-person choir at New York City’s Metro Baptist Church.

RELATED: Q and A with Max McLean, founder of NYC-based Fellowship for Performing Arts